> In English, were still being taught the 8 parts of speech. This is an honors class.
Seriously? Holy shit, we were taught that in 4th grade! (Then again, that was in 1974, goodness how standards have slipped. No wonder you kids today are over a barrel - that should have been under everyone's belt in grade school. Jesus.)
If you really want to get a jump on your language, don't wait for the public education system to do it - obviously it's in a standards tailspin and heading down.
There are lots of wonderful books that you can get that will help you tighten up those skills. This one - The Elements of Grammar has been consistently, the one I come back to time and time again.
Good luck!